nd the music of the rills that came rushing down the ravines,
to water the flowers and swell the rapid current of the Adaca, under the
arching of the woodland forest that hung out its green plumes to wave in
every breath of summer, formed an earthly Paradise, in Mayall's
estimation.

The bounty and grandeur of Eastern cities faded into insignificance,
when compared with his surroundings; for here he reigned lord of the
valley's long and wide domain, that abounded in deer, game and furred
animals, whilst its streams swarmed with fish. He was truly one of
Nature's noblemen--kind and affectionate to his beautiful and lovely
wife and children, charitable and humane to all. He was ready at all
times to hazard his own life to assist a friend. When attacked by his
enemies, he seemed to anticipate all their designs at a glance, and
destroyed them without remedy. After the storm of the Revolution had
passed away, and the muttering of its thunder was no longer to be heard,
adventurers from the East, who were searching for new homes in the
productive valleys of Tryon County, found this Friend, as he styled
himself, and settled on the same stream, charmed by the beautiful
forests, the crystal streams, and the fertility of the soil.

The history of this remarkable hunter is wrapped in mystery. His daring
adventures, his wonderful escapes from danger, his presence of mind in
the most trying scenes of danger, all combine to render his life
wonderful. With his chosen companion to rear a family amid the wild
scenes of Nature, far from the civilized world, surrounded by the wild
beasts of the forest, he worshiped at the shrine of Nature's God, and
gloried in the wild scenes of beauty. The romantic courtship and
marriage of Esock Mayall with the adopted daughter of a famous Indian
chief, her grace of manners, her remarkable beauty, and courage in time
of danger, her journey to her new forest home and return to the land of
her birth, seem to be one of the great events of Providence, together
with her journey to Niagara Falls with the Indian chief, her father, to
witness the sacrifice of a young Indian maiden of high rank to the Great
Spirit of the Falls.

CHAPTER I.

In the romantic days of the frontier settlers of Tryon County, there
lived in the valley of the Mohawk River a young man by the name of
Mayall. He was by nature strong, courageous and active, always foremost
in pursuit of the Indians that lurked about the advanced